Once Bitten, Twice Shy
by DemonCat69
Summary: After being bitten by a zombie, Benatar finds himself sinking into death. Will Axel save him? Or will he too find himself in a deathly situation? Read to find out! Your Favorite Martian - Axel/Benatar - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**SLASH WARNING.**

A soft sigh escaped from Benatar's lips as he rolled over in bed. This was the third day in a row he had been suffering from insomnia, and even though he was literally in pain from lack of sleep, he couldn't slip into the comforting clutches of unconsciousness.

Not that he was sure he wanted to. The Brit had become obsessed with clinophobia, and it was sheer fear rather than willpower that kept him up. Exhausted, he didn't even have the energy to sit up in bed.

Perhaps he should have drank more coffee before bed, or maybe he should have grabbed his iPod and flipped through some screechy Dubstep tracks to keep him up, or...

Despite his efforts to keep himself alert, Benatar moaned and buried his face into his hot pillow, his grasp on the real world slipping.

_Stay awake...stay awake...stay...awake..._

He was plunged into the world of his dreams once more.

This time, he was sitting on a flowery hill. Looking about, he saw Axel waving to him from a little bit away. He smiled and waved back, standing up. A butterfly alighted on his nose and fluttered around his head.

_Well, this isn't so bad._ Benatar thought, crawling down the hill unsteadily and joining the brunette drummer. He slipped his hand into the pale fingers of Axel, who rested his head on the keyboardist's shoulder.

Suddenly, the butterfly fluttering by their heads burst into flames and melted into gray ashes that floating to the ground. The bright summery colors shattered into dark greens and blacks and reds. Splitting pain erupted on Benatar's shoulder, and he was swallowed, screaming, in a flash of teeth, slaver and blood.

He sat up in bed with a shout, gasping and panting. Sweat beaded on his face as he flopped back down, rubbing his eyes.

"Benatar?"

The blonde looked up wearily and saw Axel peering at him from the bunk above him, wrinkling his white tank top in his hands.

"Yes?"

"Are...are you okay?" the drummer asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Never been better," Benatar lied.

"Oh...okay."

There was an awkward pause.

"...can I sit with you for a bit? It's almost time for us to get up anyway."

Benatar glanced at the clock, which read 8:47 AM.

"Sure."

He sat up and patted the space beside him and Axel sat down, scratching his ear sleepily.

"...are you sure you're okay?" he asked again. Benatar opened his mouth to protest, but hung his head sadly instead.

"I...I have clinophobia." he said honestly.

"What?"

"Clinophobia."

"What's that?"

He rolled his eyes. "The fear of going to bed."

"Oh...so that's why you've been so lackluster these past few days. You haven't been sleeping properly."

"I haven't been sleeping at all, mind you."

"Why are you so afraid?"

Benatar bit his lip. "I...I keep having the same nightmare over and over again. I'm doing something pleasant and fun when it morphs into me being eaten alive."

He shuddered.

"Well...you can always come and talk to me, you know. About your 'night terrors'." Axel replied, grinning slyly. Benatar gently punched him, smiling good-naturedly.

The clock now read 8:52 AM. The Brit sidled closer to the drummer, holding his hands tightly. A little bit of color rose into Axel's face. Both were very new to being with each other, and their bumbling awkwardness when it came to being gay was rather humorous.

Benatar leaned in close to Axel's ear, whispering sweet nothings into it. Axel blushed deeper heatedly, his heart thumping faster and faster. Benatar slid his hands up to his shoulders, massaging the tenseness from them. Axel moaned sexually, redder than a tomato.

"Ugh...ohh...Ben, stop it...ah..." he groaned. Benatar nipped his ear, giggling sweetly.

"Mmm...Ben..."

Benatar pushed him down and kissed him on the mouth passionately. Axel slipped his hands up to his neck, holding him tightly. The blonde's hands slipped under the brunette's shirt and were slowly creeping their way up his tense, muscular stomach when the alarm went off. With an irritated sigh, Benatar got up and turned off the blaring device.

Axel sat up, beet red and embarrassed. "S-sorry..."

"What're you sorry for?"

"For being so...stiff."

Benatar grinned. "Aww, but it's cute!"

He bent over and gave Axel a little kiss.

"C'mon, the others'll be waiting."

###

At the hotel's breakfast bar, Puff majorly pigged out on waffles and pancakes and other goodies as the others looked on in disgust.

"He keeps eating that much, he'll explode." Axel snorted.

"Or get a stroke." Deejay added jokingly.

Puff belched loudly and stretched. "Alright, let's go."

"I see that girl wasn't the only Dookie Fresh we know." Benatar said, his witty British charm evident. Axel giggled girlishly.

"Ah, screw you. C'mon."

They headed to the tour bus and hopped in. Deejay wheeled it out and they hit the unusually empty highway. Benatar gazed out the window uninterestedly, bored beyond comparison. He and Axel had sworn their love life to secrecy, and both kept their feelings for one another hidden from the other band members.

Axel sat down next to Benatar, who started and turned to look at him.

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

"I'm lonely."

The keyboardist smirked. "You know the rule."

"But Ben!" Axel whined, "They're not paying attention! And I want to be turned on again!"

Benatar leaned over and eyeballed the two drivers, who were busy talking to each other, and swallowed. "...well...it can't hurt to -!"

He was cut off by Axel jumping on him and kissing him viciously. Benatar remained stunned for a moment, then melted into the kiss, pressing against his partner's body. He pushed the drummer up and slipped down to his neck, sucking and licking it slowly. Axel groaned and gasped, a quiet 'ow' escaping from his mouth. He grabbed Benatar's necktie and was starting to undo it when the bus suddenly lurched. Both of the gay boys were thrown to the floor in a heap.

"Whoa! What was that?"

Deejay groaned. "The engine failed /again!/ And this time it's completely dead! We need to get to a mechanic."

Puff peered out the window. "We're in the middle of nowhere! Now what?"

Benatar got up, dusting himself free of dirt. "Can't we push the damn thing? There was a mechanic shop just about half a mile back."

"It's not like we have any other choice." Puff added irritably. Everyone got out of the bus and began to shove it backwards. The vehic' slowly began inching its way back.

"Ah, hah, this is going to take forever!" panted Axel, sweat dripping off his brow.

However, an hour later of pushing later they finally got to the mechanic's. Sweat-stained and exhausted, they looked around.

"Hello?" Puff called, eyes darting back and forth, "Hello?"

There was a great cacophony of crashing and a dirty old hillbilly stumbled out of the shed, followed by a scrawny Siamese cat.

"What in tarnation do you want, then!" he yelled. Clearly he didn't like being awakened.

Puff wrinkled his nose at the flurry of beer breath directed into his face. "Ugh...we just need someone to fix our truck." he said, fanning the front his face. The hillbilly snorted and slunk over to the truck to check out their engine.

Benatar, growing bored and increasingly thirstier, drew his tongue over his dry lips and peered over the fence to the backyard of the mechanic. Axel came over and handed him a can of GeneriCola.

"Thanks." Benatar said gratefully, taking it from him. Unfortunately, the slippery drink slid from his fingertips and rolled under the fence to the other side before he could open it.

"Ah, great." the Brit snapped. Axel grinned.

"I'll help you get it." he said, grabbing Benatar by his waist and raising him up. The blonde giggled and scrambled over the fence, landing neatly on the ground and walking after his can. Axel, the athletic one, jumped up and followed him.

"Here it is." Ben said, grabbing the can from under some grass. He wiped the dirt off on his shirt and cracked it open loudly.

"You know, they're not looking," Axel said, glancing behind him, "And we got interrupted back on the bus."

Benatar flipped his hair with a smile and let Axel slide up to him. As they kissed, Axel began to undo Ben's tie, his hot hands creeping around the keyboardist's neck.

"Brains..." moaned a voice. Axel and Benatar tore apart in alarm.

"W-was that you?"

"N-no!"

"Brains...glargh..." other voices joined in. Axel gasped and pointed.

"Look!"

Out from behind the shed, several zombies (real zombies, not Zombillies) dragged themselves out and shuffled towards them, growling and groaning.

"Oh, God!" Axel exclaimed, grabbing Benatar tightly. The Brit tightened the grip on his keyboard, heart racing.

"I-it's okay, Axel, we can just run." he said, turning to the fence.

It was blocked by more zombies appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Looking around, the Brit realized something terrifying.

"We're trapped." he whispered.

One of the zombies sprang forward, grabbing him and pulling on his arm. Benatar swung his keyboard and smacked him on the head. Axel snatched a stick from the ground and used it like a baseball bat.

Left4Dead style, the two defeated the waves of rotting flesh that hurled themselves at them and soon stood tall and free. Benatar hit the last zombie across the head and turned to the fence in a panicky state.

"Axel, come _on!_ Let's get out of h -!"

One zombie he'd missed jumped on and sunk its teeth deep into his shoulder and neck. He gasped and screamed in agony, realization

"BENATAR, NO!" Axel cried, unable to run to his boyfriend due to the zombie holding his arm tightly. Sobbing in pain, Benatar went limp as a rag doll as the creature held him off the ground. Desperate, the drummer shoved the final zombie away and whipped out his pocket knife. In a swift move, he stabbed the monster in the eye and pulled his love out of its gnashing teeth as it swung back, howling in surprise.

"Benatar, please! Hold on!"

Benatar gasped and coughed, struggling to breathe. Axel pulled his jacket off of him and saw the damage the zombie had done.

The keyboardist's shoulder was completely mauled, and there were deep lacerations in his neck. The blood flooding into his torn esophagus was clogging his breathing.

"Ben, no..." Axel begged, tearing up. A moan behind him showed the zombies beginning to be revived. Holding Benatar close, the brunette scrambled over the fence once more and ran for the bus.

"...should do it now. I think -"

"PUFF! DEEJAY!"

The singer turned. "Oh, for the love of WHAT THE HELL?"

Deejay stiffened at the sight of the bleeding man. "What happened to him?"

"He…zombies…bit…we need to…"

Shock had grabbed Axel in its deathly grip and he was slowly sinking into an inability to even speak. Crying his eyes out, he slipped to the ground.

"A-Axel, snap out of i-it! We can help him!" Puff stammered. He pulled on Deejay's arm and they stumbled onto the bus, dragging the drummer with them.

Axel was thrown into a seat as the bus sped off. He cradled the blonde's head tearfully, shaking like mad.

"Please hang on, Ben, _please…_" he whimpered, "Please…I need you…"

###

Even half an hour later, Deejay still hadn't gotten to the hospital, and Benatar was no longer trembling. His skin was anemically pale, a sickly shade of ashen gray. Axel tightened the grip he had on the keyboardist's hands and blanched when he felt how cold they were.

"Ben, please…" he implored.

A pitiful meow came from by Axel's foot. Looking down, he saw the Siamese cat from the mechanic's had followed them and hitched a ride. Bloody hands trembling, the brunette bent over and picked up the furry creature, stroking it gently to take his mind off of the heavily-breathing Brit next to him.

_He needs a name_, he thought dully, _Maybe Tigger...or Fluffy...or..._

"We're here! Quick, grab Benatar and bring him in!" Puff-Puff said. Snapping back to Earth, Axel pushed the cat out of his lap and grabbed the blonde.

###

Fifteen minutes later, Benatar had been hooked up to a painkiller and was lying unconsciously in a white bed. Axel was reminded of himself, but the difference was that he had just had cuts and a missing tooth. Benatar was just now having blood clot in his shoulder, stopping the wound up. His skin was sweaty and cold.

"So, tell me again, how did this _really_ happen?" the nurse asked.

"I told you, he got bitten by a zombie." Axel responded exasperatedly, his voice tired. Puff and Deejay looked awkwardly between him and the female doctor, who folded her arms irritably.

"I'm not going to ask again."

"Then don't if you're not going to listen!" the drummer snapped, clenching his teeth. The nurse sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Regardless, he should be fine by morning. Just make sure he doesn't do any physical activity."

"Would playing a guitar count?" Puff asked. Axel turned to him in shock.

"No, it wouldn't." she responded, getting up and leaving.

Before the singer even had a chance to speak, the brunette had grabbed him by the throat and was holding him up against a wall.

"You sick fuck! How can you be so obsessed with your stupid music when one of your band members is dying?"

Deejay pried him off. "Chill, Axel. You heard the lady, he'll be fine."

Puff slid to the floor, coughing. "Geez, man! If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were gay for the dude!"

The drummer blushed invariably, suddenly silenced. Deejay chuckled.

"Mmm...Axel?" moaned a voice. Axel pushed away from the tall DJ and stumbled over to the blonde.

"Benny? You okay?" he whimpered.

"What...what happened?"

"You, uh...you passed out after you got bit, I think."

Puff rolled his eyes. "I'm going to see if there's somewhere we can stay."

He waited, but he was met with silence.

"...is anyone coming with me?"

More silence.

"For the love of -!"

"Okay, fine! Geez!" Deejay snorted, shoving him out the door. The brunette watched them leave shakily.

"Ben..." he whispered, "I...I don't want to lose you..."

Benatar weakly pushed himself up with his good arm. "You won't."

He kissed Axel gently on the mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

When Axel awoke, he was tired and ached all over. He spent a night crammed into the closet of Ben's ward because he was too afraid to let his boyfriend be alone. After dozing off with a broom jabbing him in the back and a bucket over his head, he had awoken to the sounds of movement. Sleepily, he stood up, pulling the pail off his head and opening the doors.

"Benatar, time to..."

He trailed off, awed.

Benatar was unclothed except for a pair of tighty-whities and his socks, and he was pulling up a pair of jeans. Both were frozen and staring at each other, Axel's mouth hanging open and Benatar's face reddening as he realized he was basically stripping.

Axel's eyes had never seen Benatar shirtless before, let alone with his pants down at his knees. The bandaged shoulder and dried blood crusted on his cheeks gave him a rugged look, and the fact that he was bent over at the waist made everything more...phallic.

"Uhh...uhh..." Axel stammered, tomato red. Tingles raced up from his 'lower parts' as a trickle of blood oozed out of nose.

"Uhh..."

"Turn around...please..."

Swallowing evenly, Axel turned around and faced the closet, scrubbing his face clean as Benatar scrambled into his clothes.

"...okay, you can turn around now."

Still red, Axel turned back and fiddled with his shirt. "S-sorry..."

"It's not your fault, Axel." Ben said good-naturedly, adjusting his tie neatly and walking over to his boyfriend. He swung his arms over the brunette's shoulder and gently kissed him. Axel giggled between kisses as Benatar gently pulled him back towards the bed. The Brit flopped backwards on the bed and Axel crawled on top of him. Benatar's husky breathing in his ear as he licked him doggishly was making Axel shake and gasp.

"Ben..." he groaned, "Benny, stop...I'm gonna -"

"Hey, hey! What's up, guys?"

Axel and Benatar both jumped up and stumbled away from each other just as Puff turned to look at them.

"Hey, uh, what are you -?"

"W-we weren't doing anything! I swear! Benatar just dropped something a-and -!"

"Whoa, Axel, calm down, man." Deejay laughed, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Axel leaned against the wall, heart racing. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"C'mon, we gotta get back home." Puff-Puff said nonchalantly. Benatar stiffly exhaled, weak in the knees.

"That was too close." he whispered to Axel as they grabbed their things and began to leave.

"Way too close."

The cat was still sitting in the bus when they opened the doors and scrambled in.

"Aww...who's this little creature?" Benatar's animal-loving side kicked in as he bent over and stroked the cat, who meowed and pressed against his hand.

"He hitched a ride with us from the mechanic's."

"Can we keep him? _Please?_" the Brit implored, sounding like a little kid. Deejay looked at Puff, who sighed.

"Okay, fine. But you're are taking care of him, Benatar!"

"It's a girl, Puff. Let's name her...um..."

He glanced out the window, where the sign for the hospital was visible.

"...'Sunny Ray'...ooo! Let's name her Sunny!"

"Sunny? You're kidding, right?"

"No, seriously!"

Puff sighed. "Whatever. Take us out of here, Deejay."

"Right on."

###

When they finally got back to their home base, Puff immediately went to his room to plan out the next song whilst Benatar went up to his room. Axel was glad he was feeling better (although it was a little odd he had recovered so quickly), but he digressed. After placing his drums away in the band room, he decided to peek on Ben and see how he was doing. He tiptoed up the stairs and down the hallway, stifling his giggling.

When he reached Benatar's door, he quietly peered through the crack in the door and eyeballed the skinny Brit inside. The brunette was startled by what he saw; Benatar was sitting at his desk, head in his hands and shoulders shaking. He flung open the door in fear.

"Benatar! Are you okay?"

Startled, the blonde raised his head and rubbed his crimson eyes. "W-what?"

"What's wrong?" Axel murmured, reassuringly wrapping him in a hug.

"N-nothing, it's just...my head hurts like hell."

The drummer exhaled in relief. "Do you want me to get you an Advil or something?"

"No, I...my sugar is just low."

Axel raised his head. "Hu-?"

Benatar cut him off with a kiss, wrapping him in a tight embrace. Axel blushed.

_Oh...I get it._

He tightened his grip on the keyboardist and pulled him off the chair, smothering him in kisses and lowering him to the bed nearby. Ben groaned pleasurably.

"Ben..." Axel whispered, breathing heavily, "Ben, can you...?"

Benatar swallowed the growing amount of saliva in his mouth and smiled naughtily. He tugged off his tie and roped it around Axel, pulling him down to his neck.

"Show me just how kinky you can get." he whispered seductively, body spasming at Axel's touch. The brunette paused for a second, shaking with want, then gave in. He lifted Benny up, sucking on his neck vampishly, and pulled off his jacket. Both were aroused and trembling as Axel dragged his mouth up Ben's white shirt, pulling it off with his teeth. Dirty thoughts raced through the Brit's head as he yanked the drummer's shirt off. Both had to pause for a moment to take in the other's shirtless appearance.

Benatar was clean and shaven, and Axel was tattooed and masculine. Both turned tomato-red and heated up to volcanic levels.

"...Axel?"

"What?"

"I...I think I love you."

Axel's heart was about ready to burst out of his chest from sheer joy.

"I love you, too."

He French-kissed his partner romantically as his hand began to undo the keyboardist's belt. Slowly, he began to pull down Ben's pants when -

"Hey, Benatar, have you seen my -"

Axel attempted to jump up, but Benatar's loose belt snagged on his pants and yanked him back down. Both, realizing how utterly fucked they both were, looked first to each other and then to Puff, who was staring at them with his mouth hanging open.

"You...y-you guys a-are...gay?" he stammered. The two pushed themselves into a sitting position.

"Puff...please...don't throw us out." Benatar begged, tears in his eyes.

"How did you even _become_ gay? You guys have been straight since forever." Puff asked confusedly.

"Well...I kinda...um...I kinda fell for Benatar...and then..." Axel mumbled embarrassedly.

"And after the crash I fell for Axel, too." Ben finished. Puff's eyes widened further.

"So...you've been gay since the Smithers song?"

The two nodded. A single tear slithered down the blonde's face.

"...now why would you think I'd throw you out?"

Benatar looked up. "Huh?"

"You're asking the person who wrote a song about two men being in love not to throw you out for being two men in love?" he asked with a chuckle, folding his arms and grinning, "Are you high?"

A relieved giggle burst out of Axel. "So, we're okay?"

"Sure. Just use your own computers for your porn, please." the nerd said before leaving.

As Axel laughed and tightened the grip on his boyfriend's hand. His soft laughter faded when he realized how cold Benatar's hands were, and suddenly a sharp stab of pain scraped his fingers.

"Ow! What the hell?"

He looked down to his thumb, where a little scratch was visible. He slid it into his mouth and narrowed his eyes at Benatar.

"What was that for?"

"What was what for?"

"Dude, cut your nails!"

"What are you talking about, I just di -!"

He cut himself off when he glanced down at his hands, where his nails had grown about a millimeter off the end of his fingertips. They were also slightly tapered off at the ends, and they were slightly darker than the pale, translucent color they had been before.

"But...but that's impossible, I just cut them before you showed up." he said in confusion, heart beating a little faster.

"Well, whatever," Axel said, grabbing his shirt, "I need to take a shower and put these in the laundry. Your blood is still all over it."

As he sauntered out, the Brit got up and went to his mirror, eyeing his reflection. After removing the bandages around his shoulder, he saw something shocking - smears of pale green color were starting to creep from his shoulder wound up to his neck and chest. When he lifted his bangs and peered closer, he saw his blue eyes were now a shade of green.

_What's happening to me?_

###

The band members ordering pizza for dinner from Pizza Planet, appropriately. Benatar sat quietly watching a movie with Axel. It was just a cheap thriller, the kind where you want to yell at the people on screen because they act so stupidly, but the blonde couldn't enjoy himself. The steady pain in his head and shoulder had both been turned to a painful throb, and he felt a tiny bit sick to his stomach.

"You really need to take a shower, Ben." Axel said loosely, breaking his thoughts.

"What?"

"You need a shower. You smell like something crawled on you and died."

Since the pizza hadn't arrived yet, the keyboardist got up and went to the bathroom. As he scrubbed his flesh, he realized it felt slightly scaly. Not to mention that little flaps of skin came off and clung to his fingers. He ended up getting out before even finishing conditioning his hair, since he was starting to have a panic attack and felt like he was going to fall over at any given moment. Breathing heavily, he wrapped his shivery body in a robe and looked into the foggy mirror weakly.

The pattern of greenish splotches was advancing. It had now claimed the entire left part of his neck and was traveling down his arm and chest. The longest tendrils reached his elbow. It was like a disease that you could see slowly eat away at your body. The pain that had originally been secluded to his shoulder and head now had traveled to the other parts affected by the colored infection. Not to mention he felt sick as a dog.

"Benatar! The pizza's here!"

"It's okay, just eat something and you'll feel better." he reassured himself desperately. He threw on a sweater and a pair of jeans and slunk downstairs.

"Here you go, Ben!" Axel said, handing him a slice of pepperoni. Benatar feebly smiled and accepted the food, taking a bite. It took all his self control not to spit it out on the floor.

It tasted _awful_. Like gasoline and concrete mixed in a blender and served with used-bandage-sauce. Normally Benatar loved pizza, and he was a huge fan of Pizza Planet's pepperoni, but he was about ready to hurl. He swallowed shakily and gagged behind his hand.

"Mmm! This pizza is even better than the usual!" Puff said, shoving even more of the stroke-inducing food in his face. Axel chewed another slice and turned to Benatar.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Ben shook his head. "N-nothing."

A painful pulse grew in his stomach as he continued attempting to eat the food. Despite the fact that he seemed to be the only one who was disgusted with the food, he continued to eat just to keep up his strength. After waves and waves of sheer yuck, Benatar finally finished two slices. Exhausted, he flopped over on his chair and breathed in and out heavily.

"Ben? Are you okay?" Axel asked worriedly. Deejay and Axel looked up.

"I...I think..."

His stomach lurched dangerously.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

He clapped a hand to his mouth and raced down the hallway to the bathroom. He just barely made it before he upchucked. With each excruciating retch he threw up every disgusting bite of pizza, all whilst feeling like his stomach was about to rip in two.

After a full minute of throwing up, he finally slowed to a stop. Stomach on fire, Benatar flopped over on the sink and rinsed his mouth out, gasping and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Quavering feverishly, he slid to the floor and collapsed in a coughing fit. Axel, regaining his senses after being surprised, raced over to the bathroom.

"Ben! Benny, are you okay?"

Axel stepped over and knelt down beside his boyfriend, wrapping him in a hug. Benatar burst into tears, burying his face in Axel's shirt.

"It hurts so much, Axel!" he sobbed, "Why is this happening to me?"

"Shh...it's fine, it's probably just a flu or something." Axel murmured, stroking his back gently, "What happened? Was something wrong with the pizza?"

"It tasted awful...Oh, God, I'm so hungry..." Benatar moaned.

"What do you want to eat? Whatever you want, I'll get it for you."

There was a pause as the Brit sniffled, and then he whispered a response that startled even himself.

"..._brains_..."

Axel raised his head. "What?"

Benatar covered his mouth, shaking. Had he really just said that? It hadn't even sounded like his voice.

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing."

"Dude, I just heard you say something."

"Never mind, I'll...I'll just have a sandwich or something." he lied, weakly standing. He walked out and back to the kitchen, where the others were waiting.

"You okay?" Deejay asked.

"Fine, fine."

He opened the pantry and took out a sandwich and some GeneriCola. Ten seconds later, the tiny bite of sandwich he had taken was in the sink and Benatar's official dinner was a can of soda.

###

For the next two days, all food the blonde attempted to eat was either thrown up or spit out. He was able to keep drinks down, but even the lightest soup was vomit-inducing. Growing weak and frail, he kept to himself as his eyes grew dark and shadowy and his skin grew pale and grayish.

Axel was constantly worried, losing sleep and fretting over his partner. All of the keyboardist's lively English persona was lost. Now he remained alone in his room all day, leaving Axel lonely and longing.

One day, Deejay and Puff had to go discuss plans for an upcoming gig, and Axel had to go shopping. He went upstairs and entered Benatar's room.

"Benny?"

No answer, but the telltale lump under the covers was visible.

"Benny, time to get up." the drummer said, patting it. Benatar rolled over and looked at him somberly.

"How're you feeling?"

"Starved."

Axel bit his lip. "Well, um...I'm going shopping. Do you want something?"

The blonde shrugged.

"Here..." Axel bent over and picked up Sunny, plunking her on the bed, "She'll keep you company till I get back. Okay?"

Benatar nodded and petted Sunny, who purred delightedly. With a smile, the brunette got up and walked out.

When he heard the downstairs door slam, the Brit sat up and got dressed, exhausted. He went downstairs, ignoring the food lying about and instead drinking a glass of milk. Even that made him nauseous.

As he sat with his pounding head in his hands, he heard the cat meowing frantically and scratching at the window.

"Sunny? Sunny, what's wrong?" he said, weakly getting up and going to the window. Outside on the sidewalk, a Great Dane was aimlessly trotting back and forth. Benatar's stomach rumbled painfully as he glanced down to his hand and saw the tendrils of greenish color leading down to his palm, coupling the dark talons on the ends of his fingers well.

As his gaze went back and forth between fuzzy and more fuzzy, he could just make out that his reflection's eyes were no longer blue or even green.

They were pure yellow.

That's when he lost control.

###

When Axel returned home, he could tell something was amiss right away. First off, the neighborhood was silent. Not a sound could be heard for miles around. Not even the birds were twittering.

The drummer worriedly continued down the foreboding walk, each step ominously echoing. As he neared their house, he saw Sunny traipsing about outside, looking around and meowing pitifully.

"Sunny? What're you doing out here?"

He scooped up the furball and stroked her reassuringly. He noticed something red and sticky on her paw.

"Aww, did you hurt yourself?" he asked, kissing the kitten's forehead. As his gaze fell to the ground, he froze.

Blood was spattered every which-way, as if someone had had a scuffle, and a trail of bloody smears led straight into the front door of /their house./

"_BENATAR_!" Axel cried, racing into the house and screeching to a stop.

"Ben! Are you o -?"

He stiffened, feeling the claws of Sunny digging into his chest through his shirt.

The body of a huge dog was sprawled on the ground. Further observation showed that it was headless. A puddle of blood surrounded its neck instead.

On the table was the head in question, its top torn and ripped until the crushed skull was visible. One could see daylight on the other side of the hole - there was nothing inside.

Sounds of heavy breathing and gasping could be heard. Axel's gaze traveled up to the other end of the table, where Benatar was sitting with his head on the wood. His body was shaking like mad and spasming every few seconds.

"Benatar? What happened?"

Still twitching, the Brit raised his head. Blood fringed his mouth and was visible in his mussed hair. His eyes were wide and maniacal.

"I-I didn't m-meant to."


	3. Chapter 3

Axel felt Sunny jump from his shirt and run off in panic as he slowly approached the shaking man. His heart was in his throat.

"Wha...what happened?"

"I...I just...and I...I'm sorry..."

Axel swallowed evenly and held his boyfriend close. "Shh...jut tell me what happened. Did the dog attack you or something?"

Benatar breathed in and out spastically. "No, I...I don't know, I blacked out."

The brunette reassuringly stroked him. "Shh...it's okay, let's get you cleaned up."

He scooped up his partner bridal-style and carried him to the sink, where he washed his face. Benatar smiled feebly at his gentle touch, snuggling closer to him. The drummer kissed him gently and carried him to the couch, where he laid him down.

"Why don't you take a nap?" Axel said. The Brit nodded and curled up tiredly.

About an hour later, all the blood splatters were cleaned and the dog's corpse thrown out. Benatar had drifted off to sleep and was breathing quietly behind his hand. Axel smiled and sat beside him, rubbing his shoulder.

"Benny..."

The blonde stretched, catlike, and sat up beside Axel. "Morning."

"You seem brighter."

"I don't feel hungry anymore."

The drummer raised an eyebrow, confused. "Really?"

"Yes. I feel great, in fact."

"You don't look great."

Indeed, Benatar's whole face was pale and greenish, and his eyes were sunken and dark. Not to mention the odd scent rising up from him.

Like...rotting flesh.

"Ben...we need to talk."

The keyboardist stiffened. "About what?"

"You...you've been acting really weird lately..."

"S-so?" he squeaked, worried.

"I...I need to ask you...are you turning into a zombie?"

Benatar's heart was about ready to jump out of his mouth. "N-no! I can't be! They just bit me! You can only become a zombie by having one eat your brains...r-right?"

The drummer opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. "I...I don't know."

"Axel, please...I'm not a zombie..." Ben pleaded, tearing up. Sniffling, he covered his face with his clawed hands as Axel awkwardly hugged him.

"Hey, don't cry...I'm sorry..." he said, stroking the blonde's back, "Please don't cry."

Benatar sniffed. "S-sorry..."

Axel kissed him and grinned. "It's okay, you're probably just a little sick."

The Brit nodded, praying that what the drummer said was true.

###

When Puff and Deejay returned, they found Axel and Benatar flopped over on top of on another on the couch, sound asleep. He smirked.

"I knew it was a good idea to buy this." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an air horn he had bought for shits and giggles. He aimed it right at the two gay men and pulled the trigger.

BLARP!

"Holy shit!" Axel screamed, falling to the floor. Benatar lurched upwards.

"What the hell, Puff?" Axel snapped, jumping up and shoving the laughing singer, "You are an ass!"

"And you were a perfect target!" Puff chortled, "You set me up for it!"

"Shut up." Benatar muttered, getting up. His quiet statement went unnoticed.

He was hungry again. In fact, he was hungrier than he had been before. He dragged his tongue over his teeth and felt it bump against a chunk of something, which he picked out with his fingers.

It was a grayish, pinkish chunk of something squishy.

Hyperventilating, Benatar's vision became warped again. He despairingly tried to flick off the easily identifiable chunk away, but it stuck to his sharp talons. Unable to control himself, he shoved his other hand in his mouth and bit down hard, hard enough to draw blood. Anything to keep himself from eating that delicious, savory morsel of -

_Stop it!_

Starved, he drew the piece up to his mouth.

_Stop it, stop it, stop it! You're not a zombie, you're not!_

His fingers hurt so much they had gone numb, and he was making horrible growls and whines from behind his hand. Finally, he was able to get rid of the chunk on his hand and he drew the bloodied hand out of his mouth. The greenish skin was ripped and torn badly, so he stuck it under the sink and washed off the blood. When he took it out to wrap it, the wounds had already begun to scab over.

_Oh, God, no...please, no...this can't be happening to me..._

"Benatar? You okay?"

He swallowed weakly and nodded, hot sweat dripping off his head. "F-fine."

In truth, he felt sick and hungry. Feverishly, he raised his head and blindly spoke out.

"I'm going for a walk, okay?"

"Sure."

"Whatever."

"Be back in time for dinner, Benny." Axel requested. The Brit nodded and slipped out, holding his breath.

Once the door was closed behind him and he had walked a good meter away from the house, he broke down and gasped for air. His head pounded as he slunk down the sidewalk, just barely able to see. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and stumbled forward, hoping he wouldn't come across any other dogs.

At some point, he reached a part of the suburb where three hobos were hanging around a lit trash can. He stopped and leaned against the wall, sweat pouring down his face as he panted loudly.

_Oh, God...someone help me..._

He was shaking like a leaf caught in a hurricane's breeze. His stomach was practically screaming.

As his vision went fully blind, Benatar felt his hands pulling away from his stomach and slowly raising up.

"No..." he moaned, "...no, please..."

His arms hovered in front of him and his legs started shuffling forward.

"No..._brains_..."

He couldn't stop himself, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He was too hungry to care anymore.

This time, though, he didn't black out. He moaned aloud and felt his hands grab onto the hobo's shirt.

"_Santa hates you, too._" he growled, before biting down hard on the man's head. The sweet flavor of brains flooded into his mouth, and his senses snapped back into normal mode. In fact, they were even sharper than normal. Immediately, he pulled upward, yanking out the tangled lumps of gray matter and chewing them sloppily, blood splattering on his face and clothes. Despite the man's screaming, he didn't stop until he had eaten all of the delicious brains from the his head. Throwing the lifeless body down to the ground, he groaned aloud and licked his lips, breathing heavily.

The other two hobos could only stare, shaking like mad. Benatar turned his glittering yellow eyes to them and grinned insanely.

###

Puff chewed a twinkie-weiner-sandwich with cheese whiz as he stared at the TV screen robotically.

"Man, Kim Kardashian is such a stupid bimbo." he snorted, opening a huge bag of ruffled chips. Axel tapped his fingers anxiously on the table as he stared out the window.

"Axel, what's wrong? You've been so quiet." Deejay asked.

"I'm worried about Ben. He's been acting weird lately, and I think that zombie bite has something to do with it."

"But he seems fi -"

The TV blared up. "We interrupt this program for a special new report!"

A panicky reporter flashed on screen. "Three homeless men were found brutally murdered on the corner Asterisk Avenue and Ray Drive! All are warned to be on the look out of a serial murderer! Police are ba -!"

Puff turned off the TV and stretched.

"Dude, what the hell? I was listening to that!"

"Oh, come on, Axel. What are the odds that that killer came up to our house? C'mon!"

"Not that! Benatar's out there!" the drummer cried, jumping up, "I gotta go find him!"

"Axel, chill. He's probably on his way home right now." Deejay reassured him. Axel was about to put his hand on the doorknob when a scratching sound came from behind the door, followed by a moaning. Axel stumbled back from the door.

"W-what's that?" Puff asked, looking up fearfully. Deejay tiptoed behind Axel as the scrabbling of claws against the door grew louder.

Puff shakily hid behind Axel's shoulder and whispered, "On the count of three, we all run. There's a shotgun in the closet by the bathroom."

"Good plan."

The moaning grew louder and the doorknob became to rattle.

"One..."

The lock began to shake and click.

"Two..."

The knob fell out and clattered to the floor.

"Three!"

The three ran, screaming, and launched themselves into the closet by the bathroom. Axel pulled the door as near to the frame as possible, but since they were all crammed in the tiny enclosure there was a slight opening. The drummer kept his hands on the handle, keeping it nearly closed.

A hiss echoed down the hall as Puff shuddered and opened the gun box. He pulled out the shotgun and handed it to Axel.

"H-here."

"What, are you crazy?" he whispered angrily, "I can't shoot him!"

"Yes, you can. Now go!"

Biting his lip, the brunette took the gun and fearfully peeked out. His body trembled as he slowly took a step out and loaded the gun.

"C'mon, Axel!" Deejay said. Axel shot him a nervous look and aimed the gun.

Suddenly, the shadow of the killer appeared at the end of the hallway, groaning and making sounds. Overtaken by pure terror, Axel froze and stared. Despite the fact he willed his finger to pull the trigger, it didn't oblige.

"Axel, what're you doing? Shoot it!"

The brunette was shaking like mad. The gun slipped from his sweaty, trembling fingers and clattered to the ground loudly.

The killer turned and started dragging itself down the hallway towards him. Panicking, Axel grabbed the gun and raised it up. Before he could even concentrate, the shotgun went off in his hands and the killer fell to the floor. Realization hit the brunette with the force of a sledgehammer.

/Oh my God. I just shot someone./

The only thing that kept Axel from fainting was the fact that he had done it as self defense, not for fun. Breathing heavily, he stepped over to the body with the gun still in his hands.

"Axel, no!"

He quietly flicked the light switch on (they had turned out the lights to watch a movie) and glanced down at the floor.

His heart skipped a beat and the color drained from his face.

"_BENATAR_!"


	4. Chapter 4

The gun slipped from Axel's hand and fell to the ground as he collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"No, no, no! Benatar! _Please!_"

He lifted the body of his friend, who was as floppy as a rag-doll, and buried his face in the blonde's chest.

"Please! No, Benny, please!"

Puff stumbled out and blanched. "Is he...?"

Axel raised his head tearfully and opened his mouth to respond when -

"Hey...what was that for?"

Startled, the brunette looked down to see Benatar looking back at him with his bright yellow eyes. The bullet wound in his chest was already healing, and it had been enough to shake him back to reality from the possessive zombie state he had been in. He sat up and folded his arms.

"That hurt!"

"You...you're okay?" Axel stammered, stunned, "But how?"

"Good question." Deejay said, taking a step back. Puff remained behind, steadily growing paler.

Benatar bit his lip, realizing he had his back to the wall. "I...I think..."

The drummer felt the true meaning behind the blonde's hesitation, and he felt a bead of sweat roll down his face.

"I think...that I'm...a -"

Suddenly, a choking sound cut them off. All three turned in surprise to see Puff gasping and coughing as he grabbed his chest before flopping to the ground, lifeless.

"Gah! What happened?" Deejay exclaimed, shocked.

"I knew a-all that food w-would have gotten t-to him eventually!" Axel stuttered, "Quick! Get t-the phone!"

The two raced into the kitchen as Benatar silently took this opportunity to hide. He curled up under the table and covered his head, trembling, and wishing he had never gone after that can of soda.

His shoulder pulsed with dull pain.

###

Benatar remained under the table for at least two hours, half asleep. His back had cramped up from the corkscrew position he was in, but he didn't dare move. Occasionally a cop car would drive by and he would tense up so much his body hurt, but no one came in.

At some point, he dozed off. His dreams were very reminiscent of fever dreams, where everything was slurred and skewed, with repetitions and creepy carousel music in the background. The nightmares' tight clutches kept him in their grip until he was startled awake by the sounds of keys in a lock. With a gasp, he leapt up and smacked his skull painfully on the underside of the table.

"Ow..." he mumbled, gritting his teeth against the sharp pound of headache. The door swung open and two of three band members shuffled in.

Benatar crawled out from under the table. "How is he?"

Axel narrowed his eyes at him. "Why do you care? You didn't bother coming with us, did you?" he said nastily. Benatar hung his head shamefully.

"He had a heart attack. Two much cholesterol from those freakish things he ate." Deejay explained, a little more kindly. Benatar got up and stepped over to Axel, putting his hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" he spat, pulling away and stomping off. The aura of anger he left behind was poisonous.

"Don't bug him now, B. He's really worried."

"B-but -!"

"Don't."

Deejay also migrated to his room, leaving the Brit behind to be even more alone.

Unable to sleep from sheer anxiety, Benatar remained on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Sheer regret over things he couldn't change swallowed him and spat him out repeatedly.

"Why did I go after that can of soda? Why?" he mumbled aloud, trying not to cry.

Morning dawned icy and cold. He raised his head when he heard someone walk into the living room.

"Axel?"

The brunette didn't answer; he simply grabbed a beer from the fridge and chugged it.

Very uncharacteristically.

Benatar got up and walked over to the shadowy-eyed drummer. "Do you...want me to make you breakfast?"

"No." Axel grumbled. Ben sighed.

"Axel, please...don't be mad."

The drummer tightened his hold on the neck of the bottle.

"I just...I think that -"

The bottle exploded and the glass shards flew everywhere, scratching and nicking Benatar's greenish skin. With a cry, he ducked down.

"Whoa! What happened?" Deejay ran into the hallway, his tracksuit half-off.

"_Nothing_." Axel said past his gritted teeth. The blonde stayed on the ground, trembling.

"Well, okay...be more careful."

The Brit shakily looked up at the drummer before crawling away, heart pounding in fear.

"I'm going to go pick up Puff, is anyone coming with me?" the brunette said aloud. Ben raised his head hopefully, but Axel gazed at him irritably.

"I'll come with you, Axel. Let's go." the sound mixer said with a sigh.

###

It was a good hour later before they returned, and Axel was even more pissed than before. Puff was wobbly and unsteady on his feet, and he immediately collapsed onto the couch when he got home. His face was pale and slick with sweat.

"Puff? You okay?" Benatar asked, genuinely worried. The singer nodded unsteadily, twitching slightly.

Axel sat at the table and plunked the six-pack he had bought on the table, proceeding to drink a can. The Brit winced.

"Axel, why are you suddenly drinking to much? This isn't like you."

"You're not like you either." Axel said blatantly. Deejay sensed a growing tenseness in the air.

"But...it's not my fault."

The drummer finally lost his temper.

"BULLSHIT! This is all your fault, Benatar!" he yelled, shoving him to the ground, "If it weren't for you, none of this would have ever happened!"

The keyboardist stayed on the floor for a moment, stunned, before angrily jumping up as well.

"How is it /my/ fault Puff had a heart attack?"

"You freaking moron, if you hadn't shown up to the house like that, he wouldn't have! Scum sucker!"

Ben's ears turned red. "You - you - you shithead! It's not like I wanted to, I just can't help it!

"Why not just get out and stick to eating brains, you necrophiliac!"

"SHUT UP! You whore!"

"Fuckface!"

"Arse!"

Axel leapt on Benatar and shoved him to the ground, tearing at his hair and punching him. The Brit fought back, scratching him back.

"WHOA, WHOA, break it up!" Deejay grabbed each of them and forcefully pulled them apart. They struggled against him.

"Let me go! His brains are gonna paint the wall!" Axel spat.

"Both of you, cut it out!" Puff shouted weakly.

"You know what? I'll say it - I'm a zombie! Are you happy, you oversized turd?" Benatar shouted.

"Shut the fuck up, you dick! I don't care about you anymore!" Axel screamed.

"Yeah? Well, I don't give a /shit/ about you! WE'RE THROUGH!"

Benatar pulled away from Deejay and ran down the hallway, leaving the brunette with his eyes wide in shock. He covered up his dark surprise with more angry cussing.

"Well, I don't fucking care! In fact, I fucking love it! Welcome back to the Friend Zone, you asshole!"

"SHUT UP!" the Brit shrieked, slamming the door to his room behind him. Axel tore away from Deejay angrily and plunked himself on the couch, folding his arms.

"...Axel..."

"Just shut up, Puff!" he snapped, rolling over and facing the wall.

Meanwhile, Benatar had leaned against the wall, angry tears pouring down his face. He hated everything about himself right now, and his very existence was disgusting to even him.

"Axel..." he whispered, "I...I didn't mean it..."

He scrubbed his face, sobs bursting out of his mouth. His heart was beating erratically.

Suddenly, it started beating faster. It became harder to breathe, and Benatar felt like he was drowning on land. Gasping for air, he propped himself against the wall.

Puff, still too weak to properly walk, slid to the floor and crawled over to the drummer.

"Axel?"

No response.

"Axel."

"What?" he squeaked, clearly in tears.

"Don't you think...you overreacted?"

"No! I didn't!"

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt."

"Puff, I didn't overreact, I just...overreacted."

The singer smiled. "You see? Now how awful do you think Benatar feels?"

Axel swallowed, attempting to loosen the know in his throat. "Probably really bad."

Benatar collapsed to the ground, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to explode. He frantically began scratching at his chest, drawing blood and trying to pull out his own heart. He was that agonized.

"Now how about you go and apologize?"

"But...he hates me now."

"He won't if you say you're sorry." Puff said kindly.

Axel sat up and looked at the nerd, reminded of why he had agreed to sign on with him for YFM. He smiled.

"Okay, I'll go talk to him."

Blood bubbled up Benatar's throat and dripped to the floor from his mouth and nose. He flopped over on the floor, realizing that the zombie infection had reached his brain, and was commanding it to stop his heart.

He was dying, and he knew it.

Axel stood and walked slowly down the hallway, thinking carefully of what he'd say.

Desperate, Benatar pushed himself up and staggered to the window, which he pushed up. Blinded by the blood leaking down his face, he slipped and struggled to find his way out the window. At long last, he got out and fell to the grassy ground. Panting (despite the fact he was suffocating), he collapsed.

Axel opened the door. "Ben, I need to tell you..." he trailed off, freezing in place.

No one was in the room. There was blood puddled on the floor, but the owner of it was missing.

"Benatar?"

The Brit, despite hearing his name, couldn't hold out any longer; his heart finally stopped. As an icy feeling took him over, his head hit the ground.

"Benatar?" Axel's voice grew shrill, "Benatar, where are you?"

Thinking he had driven the other man to running away, Axel fell to the floor, devastated.

"Oh my God, what have I done?" he sobbed, devastated.

Benatar, outside, weakly raised his head. He hadn't heard Axel's cries, and was far too confused that he was still awake to care. He held his chest and felt no beat.

_Guess I really am a zombie._

He got up and dragged himself away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Before this chapter begins, I want to say my deepest apologies for taking so long to update. I had midyear exams to deal with, and I was very busy. Sorry!**

Axel was beyond distraught; he was devastated. His stupid actions had led him to basically driving his best friend out of the house and out of his life. And now he would probably never see him again.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid Axel!_

After sitting in Benatar's room, crying quietly to himself for about twenty minutes, Puff limped in. After looking awkwardly at the sniffling drummer on the floor, he gave in and sat knelt beside him.

"Don't cry," he murmured, wrapping him in a tight hug, "It makes me itch."

Axel was startled by such a genuinely kind gesture from the singer. This wasn't the booty-loving, perverted pimp he knew as his boss. This was the honest, sweet nerd he knew as his close friend. He melted into the embrace and tried to keep his shoulders from shaking.

"Shh..." Puff patted him reassuringly, "It's okay...shh..."

"Puff, it's not okay!" Axel sniffled, "I miss him so much, and now I'll never see him again."

"You...don't know that."

"Puff!" the drummer cried, pulling away, "I called him a fuckface and a scum sucker! Would you come back to me if I called you those things?"

"Well, no..." the singer admitted, "But if you proved you never meant those words, I would forgive you."

"But how? How can I prove I didn't?"

Puff stood up. "Listen to your heart, I suppose."

As he walked out, Axel gazed after him somberly and thought. His head pounded from crying so much, so he decided to take a shower to loosen the headache.

As the water raced down his back and soaked into his hair, he repeatedly traced a heart in the fog. Eventually, he got out and stared back at his sorry face in the mirror.

Unable to focus after his shower, Axel skipped dinner and went to bed. He felt like his heart was literally breaking.

After tossing and turning for a good hour, the brunette finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The comforting deadness of sleep cloaked him for what felt like eternity, but it was suddenly broken by a nightmare. Wolves leaping and snarling, droplets of blood floating in the air, a sharp pain in his neck...

...and the horrifying screams of Benatar.

"BENATAR!" Axel cried out, jumping up. Panting, he looked back and forth weakly and sighed. The clock read 3:08, which meant he had been asleep for hours.

_Poor Benatar...he must be so...so..._

He flopped to the bed and urged himself to go to sleep, but the Brit's terrified shrieks haunted his head. Unable to drift off again, he sat up again and rubbed his neck.

_Maybe...maybe I should...but I can't...but I..._

He put his head in his hands, conflicted. Half of him wanted to do something, but the other half of him knew it wouldn't do any good.

_I...I have to try._

He took a deep breath and stood up, full of renewed confidence. He threw on a warm sweater and a jacket, and a pair of tight jeans to match his boots. The drummer stood in front of the door, and took another deep breath.

"Let's do this."

He opened the door and stepped out into the cold, wintry night. He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself and walked down the driveway.

The forest moaned forebodingly.

###

About an hour of walking later, Axel's voice was hoarse from calling out Benatar's name over and over again, and his hands were painfully frostbitten. His cheeks were numb and he felt like curling up to die.

"B-B-Ben!" he rasped, teeth chattering, "B-Benatar, w-where a-are y-you?"

He coughed as the wind picked up and brought with it the clouds of sleet. The icy snow-water soaked into his clothes and sent Axel into a shivering fit. He tripped over a branch and crashed into the cold mud. Coughing and gasping, he covered his head.

"Well, you look like you need help, don't you?" hissed a feminine voice. Axel was too weak to respond or even react when something picked him up.

"You're far from home, little rabbit. Now let's get you cleaned up." the voice said. The brunette caught a glimpse of sharp, dagger-like teeth before he passed out.

When he woke up, his head pounded. He felt uncomfortably warm and itchy, and his eyelids felt like lead pipes.

"Morning, sunshine." someone said, their voice palpably sweet. Axel opened his eyes weakly.

He was wrapped in a wool blanket, which would explain the itchiness, and he was seated by a fire. Looking around, he saw that he was in a tavern of some sort.

"Where...where am I?"

"Just a little safe spot." the person continued. Axel looked over and his heart skipped a beat.

A pretty, young girl of barely eighteen was looking back at him, smirking. She had long black hair and pale skin, and she wore a blood-red Gothic dress with black spider web patterns adorning it. She wore a choker with the design of a skull with bat wings on it.

"Wha - who are you?" Axel squeaked.

"My name is Rosalyn," the girl said cheerfully, her ruby-red lips shining, "I found you outside in the flurry, so I figured you needed some help."

Her voice had a familiar accent Axel couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Well, um, thank you."

"What were you doing out there anyway?"

Her voice had dropped to a low drone, and the thick perfume that hung around the place was making Axel sleepy. He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus.

"I...I was...ugh...I was looking for...my friend." he mumbled, growing tired and woozy, "And I got…lost...ugh, my head..."

Rosalyn sidled closer to him, placing a cold hand on his. "Well, you're safe now."

She leaned in close. "And you'll be safer soon."

Axel finally remembered what accent that was; Transylvanian.

"Wait, no!"

Too late. The vampire sunk her teeth into his neck and he gasped in pain.

The drummer had always thought that if you got bit by a vampire, you wouldn't feel anything. He was dead wrong - it felt like someone had stuck a hot sword in his throat. Moaning excruciatingly, he felt his sweaty hands slip on the seat and he fell backwards, flattened by Rosalyn's strength.

"Please...please, stop..." he begged, nearly unconscious from the pain. He could feel the vampire's tongue licking up the stream of blood that slipped past her fangs. Axel's vision went blurry and warped as his mouth was attacked by a toothache.

Finally, after what seemed like eons, the girl let him go. He felt back onto the blanket, whimpering in agony.

"Sweet dreams, little rabbit." Rosalyn whispered sinisterly, before Axel was plunged into the darkness once again.

###

When the drummer awoke again, his head felt like someone had dropped an anvil on it. With a groan, he sat up.

"Ugh...oh my God..." he grumbled, sitting up. He raked his hand through his hair and dragged his tongue over his sharp teeth before -

_Wait...sharp?_

His hand flew up to his mouth and he felt his canines had sharpened into fangs. Vampire fangs.

"Oh my God, no..."

Axel brushed his fingers against his new teeth and winced.

"Stupid Rosalyn...now I'm a Cullen. Ugh."

Sheer stupid curiosity drove him to the window, where he gently pulled at the dark curtains. A single shaft of light shone in through the grimy glass. Quaking, the drummer stuck his hand into the beam.

With a cry of pain, he drew it back and cradled it with his other hand, whimpering. Dark burn marks appeared on his skin.

"So I'm not a Cullen...good."

"Are you looking to leave anytime soon?" hissed a voice. Axel looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"I said, are you going to leave soon?"

The owner of this voice was a tall, thin man with a black goatee and pale skin. He brushed his long black hair out of his face and smiled, revealing a row of fangs.

"Um...yes...I was looking for my friend..."

The man nodded. "Well, unless you want your entire body fried, I suggest you wait until evening."

Axel, despite his desperation to find Benatar, had to admit the man had a point. "O-okay."

"Come, sit. I'll get you a drink."

As the brunette settled on a stool at the bar, he noticed the perfume that had coated the place was gone.

"What happened to that weird smell?" he asked cautiously.

"It's still there. Only non-vampires can smell it, and it makes them light-headed and sick. Many 'pires bring their victims to this tavern, and once they fall asleep or get to dizzy to focus they pounce them. Just like my daughter did with you."

Axel narrowed his pupils to slits. "You mind telling her that she's a bitch?"

"For what? Bestowing to you some of the most amazing powers this world has to offer?"

"What powers?"

The bartender passed him a glass goblet full of dark fluid. "Drink up and I'll tell you."

Axel sniffed the drink. "Is this...blood?"

"Yes. Freshly squeezed AB, rarest type in the world. New vamps in here get their first drink free, and I figure you may like this."

The brunette swallowed fearfully. "B-but...but I don't want to drink it. That's immoral!"

The bartender rolled his red eyes. "Fine, don't drink it. This is the safest way to drink blood without actually harming anyone, boy. You don't drink now, and soon enough you'll get too hungry to even control yourself. That friend you're looking for will be eaten alive by his best friend."

Axel hesitated. He had no experience with actual vampire lore, and this young man seemed too legitimate to lie to him.

"...and if I drink it?"

"Many perks - eternal youth, eternal life, superpowers."

Axel shakily picked up the cup and raised it to his lips. He took a sip.

The taste was...amazing. Like candy and liquor and sex all rolled into one. He sloppily drained the glass.

"That...that was...delicious."

"Yep. Even the most delicate of delicacies isn't as tasty as blood to a vampire."

Axel smirked. "Does being a vampire raise your poetic skills?"

"You can figure that out yourself." the bartender chuckled.

The bartender seemed…weird. As if Axel should know who he was, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

"So, what about my powers?"

"Well, you can regenerate any wound that isn't immediately fatal, and you have super speed and strength. You can also transform into one animal, but this animal differs between vampire. For me, it's a bat. For you, it may be a cat or dog."

"What about what you said about eternal life and stuff?"

"As long as you keep drinking blood, you can keep living for as long as you please and you can keep as youthful an appearance as you please. Take Rosalyn. She looks no older than twenty, and yet she is almost two hundred."

Axel was entranced. "And...how do I die?"

"If you get beheaded, burned excessively by sunlight or stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake. Other than that, you're fine."

"And what about werewolves?"

The bartender snorted. "That was the only fact Twilight got right. Werewolves and vampires don't quite get along. Werewolves hunt us for our blood, we hunt them for theirs. Simple."

"I see...and other supernatural creatures?"

"Like who?"

"Well, um, you know...demons, monsters...zombies?"

"Demons also share our hate of werewolves. Our species are close friends. As for zombies, we hunt the same prey, so there may be competition, but we can learn to share our victims."

The brunette breathed out in relief.

"Why do you ask?"  
>"My friend…he's one."<p>

"Ah."

Axel smiled sweetly.

"…would you like to practice your skills while we wait for the sun to go down?"

"I would like that." the drummer nodded.

###

Evening fell quietly. Axel brushed a strand of hair out of his face as he turned back to the bartender.

"Thanks for everything."

"My pleasure," the man said kindly, "Now off you go."

The drummer smiled and started to leave, but not before turning back. He had finally realized the painfully obvious.

"I never thought I'd be able to meet Dracula."

The man smirked. "Be glad you did. You're one of the few."

With a paf, the famed vampire transformed into a bat and flew off into the night. Axel wrapped his jacket tighter around himself and continued his hike.

Another hour passed, and once again his throat hurt from calling Benatar's name constantly. He rubbed the crick in his neck and looked around.

"Benatar!" he called.

A soft, menacing growl came from behind him. He whipped around and stumbled back just in time to see an oversized wolf step out in front of him.

"N-nice d-doggy…" Axel stammered, shaking. His mind snapped into action and told him to run, but as he took another step back and tripped over a root. Utterly screwed, he shuffled backwards. His eyes widened in terror.

"Benatar…" he whispered, "…I'm sorry…"

The wolf lunged and the brunette covered his face, waiting for those razor sharp teeth to start tearing his flesh apart.

But they didn't.

The wolf squealed and snarled as Axel looked up to see an all too familiar face.

"Benatar!" he cried from behind his hands, watching as the zombie clung to the wolf and dug his claws into its fur. Yelping, the wolf reared up and threw the Brit off and into a nearby tree. They collided with a sickening crack as the wolf ran for it.

The blonde's limp body fell to the ground, unmoving. Still hiding behind his hand, Axel raced over.

"Ben! Ben, are you okay?"

It took a moment, but Benatar rolled over and looked up at his friend. "Axel?"

"Oh thank God, you're okay." the brunette said from behind his hand. Benatar sat up.

"Are you alright? Tell me, are you hurt?"

Axel kept his mouth covered, too afraid to show what lay inside it.

"Axel, please, I need to see if you're okay!" the Brit snapped, pulling at the drummer's hands. He stiffened when he saw the fangs jutting out over Axel's lip.

"Ben, I…I…" the brunette mumbled.

"…don't you know you have super speed? Why didn't you just run from the bastard?" Benatar joked. Axel giggled, glad he wasn't mad, before his smile faded.

"Ben, I…I need to tell you something."

"Really. And what might that be?'

"I…what happened back home, I…I just want to say I didn't mean a word I said. I was just really worried about Puff, and I-I…"

The brunette hung his head. "I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me. We…we don't have to be t-together anymore, but I just really want to be your friend."

Benatar blinked, surprised by this sudden show of raw emotion. Silently, he lifted up Axel's chin.

"But Axel…who else has such tasty brains for me to eat?" he murmured, leaning in close. Axel moved forward as well, and their lips met.

###

It took them a while, but the two men walked back to the house hand in hand. Axel was excited to get back with his partner. He had developed a weird thought in his head, and he really wanted it to take place.

As they came up over the last hill, Benatar stopped. "Wait…where's the bus?"

Axel froze. The bus wasn't there.

"Maybe they took it to the mechanic's or something…let's go look."

They scrambled down to the house. The blonde spied a note on the door.

"Axel! Come look at this!"

The drummer came over and looked on as his friend read the note.

_Dear Axel and (hopefully) Benatar,_

_Deejay and I had to leave for a gig. We would have waited, but this is going to make or break our career. We needed to go._

_Catch a ride and come on down. I left a flyer for you so you know where it is._

_~ Puff_

"Is he fucking serious? He just left without us!"

"Chill, Axel. We can snatch a car." Benatar said, scanning the flyer.

"But that's not fair! I really wanted to fu -!"

He cut himself off, blushing.

"You really wanted to what?"

"Nothing."

"Axel, what?"

"I said nothing, dammit!"

The blonde grinned. "You silly goose."


	6. Chapter 6

Upon checking the garage and finding that the instruments were taken, Axel and Benatar concluded that their fellow band members had taken them. The blonde called a cab as his partner searched for two hoodies; one to cover his delicate skin and another to cover Ben's rot.

As they rode to the place the gig was taking place, Axel felt the feeling inside of him grow. He was really anxious to get it done, and he was scared that his love would say 'no'.

"Benatar?"

"Hmm?" the keytarist turned from the window.

"I...I need to ask you something."

"Sure. What?"

"How...how do you feel about...umm..." the drummer couldn't even say it, "...about...uhh..."

"About what?"

"About...you know...the thing...with the stuff."

Benatar raised an eyebrow. "You trolling me?"

"No! I just...I...oh, never mind." he grumbled. The Brit shrugged.

_Dammit, Axel! Grow a spine and tell him you want head!_

_...head._

_Oh, baby, oh, baby, oh -_

"Shut up!" Axel hissed through gritted teeth, grabbing his head. Dirty thoughts swamped his head.

"Axel? What's wrong?" the blonde asked, concerned.

"I-I'm fine." the drummer stammered, blushing. Benatar raised an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"You've been acting weird ever since we came home. Are you feeling okay?"

Axel drew a sharp breath. _Crap!_

"Y-yeah! Never felt better!" he lied, too afraid to speak the truth.

"You sure?"

The drummer nodded frantically.

"Well...okay. If you say so."

The blonde pulled his legs up and curled up next to Axel, resting his head on his shoulder. Axel smiled and pulled his boyfriend closer.

###

After about an hour of driving, the cab finally pulled up at the stadium.

"Well...that's impressive." the brunette said, awed. He had not known they had this many fans.

He shook his partner awake and looked up the meter. His stomach plummeted when he saw the numbers.

"That'll be a hundred and seven dollars and twenty-two cents." the driver said, bored.

"Uh..." Axel shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out two twenties, "...Ben?"

The blonde sighed wearily, "Fine, I'll bail you out of this one."

He paid for the ride and the two got out, pulling their hoodies up once more. Benatar held the drummer's hand tightly as they went around to the back.

"Hey! Band members only, punks! Beat it!" the bouncer snapped amidst a fog of coffee breath. Axel was reminded of Mr. Douchebag.

"We are band members, Einstein." he said, folding his arms.

"Yeah, right. They're already -"

"Benatar! Axel!"

The brunette grinned when he saw Puff race out and wrap them both in a hug.

"Thank God you guys made it! I was starting to worry. Quick, get in!"

He dragged the two in by their arms as the Brit childishly stuck his tongue out at the bouncer.

Deejay looked up from his mixing board and grinned when Puff pulled the other members in by their arms.

"Took you long enough. What's with the hoodies?"

Benatar threw off his jacket and looked over to Axel, who did the same and pointed at his mouth. The singer's eyes widened momentarily before he jumped back to his nonchalant attitude.

"Well, I didn't know we were addressing Edward Cullen. _Like diamonds…you're beautiful!_" he said, fake-swooning.

"_Beautiful? This is the skin of a killer, Belle!_" Deejay added jokingly. Axel giggled, his tenseness easing up. Benatar walked over to the curtain and peeked out of it.

"Man...since when do we have this many fans?" he said worriedly. He hadn't practiced properly in a while, and he was worried his skills were rusty.

"Don't worry, Benny," the vampire said reassuringly, holding him close, "We'll be fine."

The concert went by well. Puff sang great, and Benatar ripped up his guitar solo like a boss. They played their most famous hits, like 'Tig Ol Bitties', 'Nerd Rage', 'Orphan Tears', and more. To close off, Puff sang 'Zombie Love Song', and the whole time Benatar and Axel were staring at each other, lovestruck.

Afterwards, the band loaded their instruments onto the bus.

"Where are we going?"

"Just a hotel-resort-thing in town. Can you get Puff?"

"Sure. Puff! We gotta..." Axel trailed off when he saw the singer wasn't there, "...Puff?"

Benatar looked around. "Where'd he go?"

"Probably back to the stage. Maybe he left something. C'mon, let's go get him. Be right back, Deejay!"

They went around back to the door leading to the stage. As the two gay boys neared the entrance, they heard the faint sounds of pleading and sobbing.

"Please...please stop it..." begged a familiar voice. They peered around the corner and Axel barely stifled a gasp.

Three gangsters were standing there, towering over a terrified Puff-Puff. The assumed leader, a ginger with a black and green bandana tied around his head, grabbed the nerd by his neck and held him up.

"Where's my money, Puff?" he snarled. The singer struggled against his grip, whining painfully.

"I...I don't have it..." he panted.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY?" the punk shouted, nailing Puff in the stomach and knocking him back into the brick wall. Axel winced when he heard the smack of Puff's skull against the hard wall. The singer slithered to the floor and covered his head, violently shaking.

"You've got five seconds to cough up that money, you oversized fucktard."

Axel tightened his grip on the wall.

"One...two..."

The drummer narrowed his eyes and stepped out from behind his shelter.

"Axel, no!" Benatar whispered.

"Three...four...fi-"

"Hey!"

The gangsters turned.

"Leave...him...ALONE!" the brunette shouted, bringing his arm back and swinging it forward in a punch. His fist collided with the lead man's face and his vampire strength knocked him into the wall with a sickening crack. The brick wall crack around him as the gangster collapsed to the ground with a groan.

"Anyone else?" the vampire said, rubbing his smoking fist.

The others, panicking, made a run for it as the ginger looked up, rubbing his jaw. Blood poured from his nose as he looked up at Axel in silent fury.

"...you're going to regret that, motherfucker."

"Then come and make me regret it." the drummer boldly said, unafraid. The gangster stood up and walked off, rubbing his nose and neck in barely-held rage.

When he had left, Axel immediately knelt down by the still shaking singer and patted him.

"Are you okay, Puff?"

Slowly, Puff removed his hands from his head and looked up at Axel with wide eyes. "Wha...what did you do?"

"I had to help you. They were going to kill you."

Benatar stepped over. "P-Puff? D-did they hurt y-you badly?"

"N-no..."

"Why did they want money off of you?"

"I...I bought some drugs for them..."

"You what?"

"They made me buy them some drugs...or else they were gonna...kill me."

The nerd weakly stood up, breathing heavily. He gratefully turned to Axel.

"Thank you. You saved my wool."

"Hey, what're friends for?"

The skinny man limped off in the direction of the bus. Axel was about to follow when Benatar grabbed him and pulled him close.

"Don't you ever, EVER do that again! You hear me?" he shouted tearfully. The drummer was startled.

"Dude...are you -?"

"Promise me you'll never do that again! PROMISE!" the keytarist sobbed. The drummer sighed and lovingly cradled his boyfriend.

"I'll promise if you promise to grow a spine."

"AXEL?"

"I'm kidding, I promise I won't. Okay?"

The blonde nodded and buried his face in the brunette's skull shirt, trembling. He breathed in his partner's comforting smell and relaxed, flopping into Axel's arms like a rag doll.

"Aww, Benny...are you tired?"

"No, my legs just feel like jelly," Benatar mumbled, "Hold on, I'll -"

Before he could finish, Axel had slipped his arms under the Brit's legs and had lifted him up. He started walking back to the bus, carrying Benatar bridal style. The keytar player blushed tomato red and giggled.

"What're you doing? Am I your woman now?"

"No, you're my man." Axel replied gently. Benatar roped his arms around the drummer's neck.

"Oh, for the love of - get a room!" Puff groaned when he saw the two get on the bus.

/Oh, I plan to./ Axel thought, before mentally slapping himself.

"Next Benatar will be wearing a wedding dress." Deejay chortled.

"Alright, alright, break up the sappy stuff! Let's go to the hotel, I'm beat."

###

The hotel was, as promised, luxurious. Puff cheered and flopped over on the couch as Deejay opened the fridge and pulled out the six pack of beer awaiting him. Benatar also peered into the mini fridge and spied something.

"Hey, they have a whole can of whipped cream in here!"

"Ooo! Gimme!" Puff exclaimed.

"What did we agree, Puff? Healthy food!"

"Yeah, but I'm freaking starved. And we had our first big gig! Please, just this once!"

The blonde sighed and gave Puff the can, and Axel watched as he tilted his head back and poured the whipped cream into it. He blushed deeply and lowered his head, trying not to think dirty things as he crumpling his t-shirt.

_I have to do it. I have to tell him._

"U-um...Benatar?"

"What?"

"I, uh...can I...uh...I mean...um..."

"What, again with the stuttering? What's up now?" the blonde chuckled. Feeling the gaze of all three of them on him, the brunette swallowed and tried once more.

"Can...can I...can I talk to you?"

"Sure. Talk to me."

"N-not here...in...in our room."

Benatar naively nodded and headed into the room. Axel looked over at Puff and Deejay, who had turned to the TV and were flipping through the channels. He slid in and closed the door behind himself.

"Alright, Axel, now tell me what's going on." the blonde said.

"You...you can't tell?"

The Brit shook his head innocently as the drummer groaned internally. He had hoped the keytarist would have guessed by now.

"Well, um..." he said, sitting beside Benatar, "I...I think that we should...um..."

"Yes?"

Axel noticed Benny was starting lean in a little closer. He could feel the dark hunger that was desire eating him alive and threatening to turn him into a wild sex animal. He swallowed and leaned in as well.

"I...I think we..."

Too close.

"…we...should...fu..."

Before he could finish their lips met. The keytarist grabbed the drummer's hands and held them tight.

After a few moments stuck together, Axel's hands started to creep up around Benatar's waist. He slipped closer and moved his mouth to Ben's ear, whispering seductively into it. The Brit breathed in and out huskily.

"A-Axel..." he groaned.

"Baby, let me blow your mind tonight." Axel murmured, licking his lips.

"Oh, God...Axel..."

The drummer pushed the blonde down and caressed his neck with his tongue. Benatar breathed out heavily and whimpered slightly when the vampire's teeth brushed his tense tendons.

He had been so distracted by Axel's mouth that he hadn't noticed that his tie had been pulled off. He opened his eyes weakly and felt his jacket and shirt being swept off.

"S...since when are y-you...a necrophiliac?" he moaned, trying to humor up the sexual situation. Even though he was deader than Axel, the brunette's body was twice as cold.

"Since I went to find you, love."

Axel struggled out of his t-shirt and threw it over his shoulder. His hands flew down to Benatar's belt and he slowly undid it.

"Axel...a-are you sure?"

"Sure as can be."

"B-but I -!" Ben cut himself off with a gasp as Axel lustily dragged a hand down his legs. He undid his own pants with one hand and slid them off, peppering his partner's chest with kisses.

"Axel, please...I'm not ready..."

Despite the imploring tone overlaying the keytarist's voice, Axel could hear the want and passion underneath.

"Well, if we don't try, we'll never know, will we?"

And he slid off Benatar's underwear.

###

Puff and Deejay had settled on The Simpsons and had sat for a good twenty minutes watching.

"They've been in there for a while now, haven't they?"

"So? It ain't any of our business." Puff said, relaxing on the couch.

"Didn't you say we were going to go out to dinner? Shouldn't we -?"

Suddenly, the sound of thumps and Benatar screaming Axel's name floated in from the other room. Puff's eyes widened as he turned to an equally stunned Deejay.

"Holy fucking shit..." he said aloud.

"Did you think Axel was gonna be on top?" Puff asked.

"No, I thought Ben would be."

"Same."

Meanwhile, both boys were at a tense, stressful climax.

"Axel! Axel, don't stop! Oh, God, I'm gonna -!"

The blonde orgasmed as Axel too gave up and flopped over, hot and exhausted. his chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

"...Ben?"

The zombie didn't answer.

"Benny?"

"Oh my God...oh my God..."

"Benny...was it...was it good?"

There was a pause. Then,

"...yeah..."

The brunette sighed in relief, pulling the blanket up over both of them. Benatar, beyond tired, inched up closer and settled on his new pillow, Axel's chest.

"Are you two done?" Puff asked, peeking in. The boys were too tired to jump or be startled - both just nodded their heads.

"Well, we're going to go out to dinner. Wanna come?"

Two head-shakes.

"Well, okay. More for me." the singer shrugged. The Brit had already started to drift off, so the brunette did the honors.

"Deejay!" he called, without opening his eyes. The sound mixer looked in.

"Yeah?"

"Make sure he eats healthy, please."

"Sure." Deejay smirked, leaving. The front door slammed shut a moment later.

Axel looked down at his sound-asleep partner and smiled tenderly.

"Sweet dreams, love."


	7. Chapter 7

When Axel awoke, he felt something warm settled on the crook of his arm. As he opened his tired eyes, he felt it shift and exhale.

Benatar had curled up closer to him and was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling quietly. Axel smiled and stroked his greenish cheek with the back of his hand.

"Wake up, sunshine." he murmured. Ben's yellow eyes fluttered open.

"Axel?" he mumbled sleepily, "Morning."

The drummer gently kissed the keytarist's forehead and sat up, stretching.

"If it weren't for your 'tastes,' I would make you breakfast."

"After you were on top? Role reversal, much?"

"You're not a woman, Benatar." Axel said kindly.

"I beg to differ. Did you know some other guy hit on me a while ago because they thought I was a girl?"

"Oh, come on, Ben."

The zombie sighed. "I'm probably going to go out tonight."

"Tonight? Why?" the brunette glanced at the clock.

"I haven't eaten in days. I'm starved."

"So...did you enjoy...last night?"

Benatar blushed. "Of course."

"Well, it's pretty early. Do you wanna...I don't know..."

"Fuck again?"

Now it was the vampire's turn to blush. "I meant make out or -"

The Brit silenced him with a kiss and pushed him back down again.

"This time, I'm on top."

One thrill later, both were once again exhausted, but not sleepy. Axel exhaled dreamily.

"Man...I'm surprised we didn't wake anyone up."

"Guess again."

Both looked over in shock to see an irritable Puff leaning against the doorframe in his PJ's.

"You guys are the loudest fuckers I've heard in a long time. And I've roomed with God knows how many people!"

"Were they all straight?"

Puff raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but -"

"There you go."

"But was that have to do with...oh, never mind."

"You mind? We wanna get dressed."

"Hold on, I bought you guys something yesterday."

He plunked a mug on the table. It was rainbow and designed in a tilted shape. On it were big letters that said 'I'm so Gay I can't even drink Straight'.

"You're such a brat, Puff."

"Love you too, honey."

The singer walked off as Axel got up.

"I'm going to take a shower."

After a pause, he grinned.

"Care to join me?"

The blonde turned tomato-red and collapsed into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay." he giggled, following the brunette. In a burst of kinky-ness, Axel pulled him in and turned on the water at a lukewarm temperature. A shiver raced down Benatar's spine as he lustily dragged his hands up the drummer's tattooed chest. Axel hooked his arms around the blonde's neck and French-kissed him. Their wet bodies brushed against each other's tentatively.

Suddenly the door opened and Deejay walked in.

"Did they leave the shower on - HI, guys! What's cracking?"

The way he was playing off being surprised wasn't in any way convincing.

"Oh, get out, you." Benatar snapped. Deejay embarrassedly backed out of the bathroom as the blonde pulled away from his lover and grabbed the soap. Before he had a chance to use it, it slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

There was an awkward pause before Axel said "You pick it up."

###

After their awkward shower together, the couple got dressed and walked out to see the others eating breakfast. Puff giggled when he saw the annoyed looks on both of their faces and he nibbled an apple.

"Well, someone's having a bad hair day."

"Ah, blow me." Axel growled.

"Benatar already did." the nerd said with a wink as Deejay snorted.

"Since when do you eat fruits?"

"Just being healthy."

The day passed without interest. They watched the Patriots and the Ravens play against each other (although nobody was really into it) until a little after lunch, when dark began to fall early. Benatar stood up and smirked.

"I'll be back in the morning, 'kay?"

Axel nodded understandingly and kissed him goodbye.

"I love you." he whispered into the blonde's ear. The keytarist smiled lovingly.

"I love you too."

"Aww." Puff grinned.

The zombie walked out the door and left a happy Axel behind. Deejay stretched and got up.

"I'm going to go look around. See y'all later."

Once the door had closed behind him, the singer let loose a cheer.

"Finally! I'm sick of all this 'eat healthy' bullshit! I'm going to party like I'm supposed to!"

"Puff!" Axel folded his arms, "You're only hurting yourself."

The singer pulled out several beer bottles from the mini fridge and proceeded to chug a bottle.

"You're freaking gross."

"Naw, aren't you a little flower?" Puff said, cracking open another beer, "I forgot vampires are too sophisticated for beer. Here, have this."

He tossed him a bottle of wine. Axel snorted, but in truth he was curious. Dracula had said that blood was the tastiest thing a vampire could have, but he had also said that wine came very close if it had a drop or two of blood in it. He looked up and saw Puff finishing another bottle.

"Hey, Puff?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you come here for a second?"

The singer swaggered over as Axel pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. In a swift move he slashed it over Puff's finger.

"Ouch! What the fuck, man?"

"Hang on, you big baby."

Axel grabbed the nerd's hand and pulled it over the neck of the bottle until a drop of blood fell into the wine. Puff snickered, clearly starting to get intoxicated.

The brunette took a swig of the wine and was surprised; it did taste pretty good. He knew vampires couldn't eat or drink anything that wasn't blood or at least had some blood on it, so this was pleasantly surprising. He tilted his head back and drank deeply.

A few bottles later both were drunk off their ass. Puff hiccuped.

"Man, I feel great." he slurred, swaying drunkenly. Axel giggled and put his arm around him.

"That makes two of us." he added. Normally, both would feel uncomfortable this close to one another, but now that they were so out of it they didn't care.

"You know, beer goggles are a hell of a thing..." Puff chuckled, roping his arms around Axel's neck.

"Wine goggles for me, babe." the brunette said, dragging his tongue over his teeth. He leaned in close, too drunk to focus, and kissed Puff viciously. The singer melted into the kiss, pulling the drummer closer as he stumbled backwards.

As a stroke of bad luck, the door to the bedroom wasn't closed.

Axel pushed Puff down and crawled on top of him, still making out with the nerd. He pulled away and grinned.

"I suck more than blood, homie." he said, breathing heavily as he pulled off his shirt. He dragged his tongue over Puff's face like a puppy as he undid the singer's belt. Soon, both were taking off more than shirts and belts.

And it was amazing.

###

Morning dawned cold and fresh over the town as Axel opened his eyes. He had a splitting headache and couldn't remember anything from last night. He groaned and rubbed his head when he felt something rising and falling underneath him. He looked down, expecting it to be Benatar.

It was Puff.

Immediately, he rolled off with a cry and lifted the blankets. Seeing he wasn't wearing any clothes, he realized what had happened.

_Oh my God. I cheated on Benatar. With Puff. Oh my God_.

Swallowed by a violated feeling, he covered his head and tried not to cry. As it were, Puff-Puff raised his head.

"Ugh, my head...Axel?"

The brunette looked back at him with wide, terrified eyes. "Puff, what have we done?"

It took a moment for the singer to figure out what had happened, but when he did his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, God...A-Axel, I...oh, God...this is all my fault..."

Axel swallowed and sat up. "We...we have to...we have to tell Benatar."

"Dude, no! We can't! He'll tear us both apart!"

"I can't keep anything from my boyfriend, even if I wish I could." he said, hanging his head.

As it were, Benatar has just walked into the suite. He had eaten his fill of brains last night and was quite happy.

When he saw Deejay sitting on the couch with a worried expression, his smile fell.

"Deejay? What's wrong?"

The sound-mixer cleared his throat. "N...nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe...you should see yourself."

The blonde picked up his keytar and inspected it. "Whataya mean?"

"Go look in the big bedroom."

The Brit shrugged and walked to the door.

"Oh, God, this is all my fault..." Axel said, rubbing his head.

"No way, this is all MY fault. I never meant for this to happen."

The drummer opened his mouth to reply when the door opened and a familiar face looked in.

Benatar's eyes widened in shock as Axel gasped.

"Ben, please! I can explain!"

The blonde didn't answer; instead, his hand slowly opened and the keytar fell to the ground with a clatter.

Ben spun on his heels and ran for the bathroom, where he locked himself in and fell to the floor, sobbing.

Axel jumped up and got dressed before running after him.

"Benny, please get out of there! I can explain what happened!"

"Ben, this was all my fault! Please don't be mad at Axel, it's not him who's to blame!" Puff cried.

"YOU FILTHY CHEATING WHORE! I NEVER WANT TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN!"

"Please, Ben, please listen to me!" Axel begged, feeling his eyes well up.

"NO! JUST FUCK OFF, YOU ASSHOLE!"

The brunette lowered his head in shame, heartbroken.

"Ben, please..." he whispered, tears dripping from his face. Puff fearfully put his hand on the drummer's shaking shoulder before being punched in the nose.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, PUFF? I FUCKING HATE YOU!" Axel screamed before stomping into the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

The aura of heartache remained for the rest of the day. Both of the gay men refused to leave their rooms, no matter what Puff and Deejay did. The singer was equally devastated that he had done what he had, and spent most of the time with his head on his knees.

The next day, Benatar finally crawled out of the bathroom and Axel came out of the bedroom as Ben narrowed his eyes at the brunette and turned away. The vampire gently grabbed the zombie's hand before being viciously slapped across the face. Puff winced at the resonating smack.

Axel gazed up the blonde for a moment before stepping back, tears slipping down his face. Puff also noticed his skin was slowly turning ashen gray, and his eyes had lost their red luster.

Axel hadn't drunk blood for too long, and he was getting weaker.

Another day passed without a word from either of the boys, but at the lunch the next day Axel finally snapped.

"Benny, please, you gotta listen to me! I'm begging you, please let me explain what happened!"

The keytarist coldly looked up. "Talk."

Puff's eyes widened hopefully.

"That day you and Deejay left, Puff started drinking and I was just curious about how it would taste, so I tried it, but then we got drunk and we...we..."

The drummer bit his lip, shaking, as Ben folded his arms.

"So you were drunk?"

A nod.

"That's not an excuse. You broke my heart."

A tiny idea fluttered in Axel's mind, but he shoved it down.

"Please, Ben! I love you more than anything else in this world! I would do anything for you!"

The idea was growing, and it was beginning to sound plausible.

"Really? Then prove to me you love me."

Axel stiffened at first, but the idea had claimed his mind.

"I will! Just wait here, and I'll prove it to you!" he said, grabbing his hoodie, "When I get back, you'll know just how much I love you!"

He hurried out the door and ran down the hall.

###

Once outside, Axel pulled up his hood and walked down the sidewalk, looking for a store that sold what he needed. Little did he know he was being watched.

"Hey...who's that guy?" said a voice. A ginger sporting a pirate bandana looked over.

"Who, him? He's just some guy, why do you care?" he snorted, rubbing the bruise on his nose.

"But look! Doesn't he look like one of those guys from earlier? The one who punched you?"

The lead gangster looked over again and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh...he does. Let's keep an eye on him and see."

At last, Axel had reached what he was looking for; a jewelry store. He stepped into the shade of the building and pulled off his hood. The gangster's eyes widened.

"It is him! Quick, let's go!"

The drummer walked over to the counter and peered through the glass, looking for just the right thing. At last, he found it.

"Hey, how much for this one?" he asked.

"420 dollars."

Axel winced and dug in his pocket, knowing buying this was a huge blow on his money, but he was willing to do it for his boyfriend.

After he had bought the thing and pocketed it, the brunette headed out. The street was eerily quiet to him as he pulled up his hood again, and he whistled the 'Zombie Love Song' chorus.

Suddenly, a hand clapped over his mouth and stifled his surprised shout before he was pulled into an alley. He struggled against the painfully tight grip on his wrists when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" the lead gangster said, leaning in close. His eyes glittered with malice as he pulled the other gangster's hand off and saw the sharp teeth poking out over Axel's bottom lip.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't normal, vampy!"

"Let go of me, you rat!" the vampire snapped, trying to pull away. He had not been feeling well the past few days since he hadn't any blood (other than that drop) for nearly a week, and he was too weak to fight back.

The ginger nailed him in the stomach, making him cough violently. A few drops of blood flew from his mouth and splattered the ground.

"Let's see just how much your friends care about you." the gangster hissed sinisterly before literally punching the brunette's lights out.


	8. Chapter 8

Benatar looked out the window at the night and sighed. "Where is he? He said he'd be back in a bit."

Puff tried not to smile. "You miss him, don't you?

"No!"

"Ben, come on. It's as plain as the nose on your face."

The keytarist bit his lip, trying not show his emotions, but he couldn't hold out. He lowered his head at last, trying not to cry.

"Don't cry, Benny!"

"I...I can't help it! I'm still madly in love with him!"

"Dude, you called him a whore."

"I didn't mean it! I never meant a word of what I said, I was just angry! I need him in my life!"

"You mean death?"

"WHATEVER! I love him!"

Sobbing, Benatar covered his face as Puff bit his lip. The singer gently placed a hand on the zombie's shoulder.

"Please, don't cry. This whole mess is because of me."

"I know, and I hate you both for it."

Puff winced.

"But I forgive you, and I forgive him. I just want him back." the Brit whimpered, burying his face in the nerd's jacket. Puff hugged him tightly.

"When he comes back, just tell him you love him. Axel still loves you, I'm sure."

"But what if he doesn't come back?"

"He'll come back, I promise."

Ben nodded tearfully and sat up, resuming his gaze out the window.

Meanwhile, Axel had woken up. He was sitting on the cold floor of a basement, his wrists bound painfully tight with a rope and his mouth gagged. His face hurt from how much he had been punched.

His foggy mind remembered waking up twice as he was dragged to the gangsters' hideout, and he remember the pain of being punching in the mouth hard enough to draw blood twice. He licked his lips behind the bandage and tasted his own blood, making him hungrier. He made a 'mmph' sound and leaned back, his stomach feeling like it was hanging itself. His muddy brown eyes had lost all their red glint.

###

A day passed, and by the next evening Benatar was crying again. This time, Puff couldn't comfort him. It really looked like Axel had left the blonde forever.

There was a knock on the door, and Puff went to get it. A shaky bellboy looked back at him.

"Yes?"

"A-are you M-Mr. Humbert?"

"Yes."

"H-here!"

The panicking teenager shoved a letter into his hand before racing back down the hall. Puff raised an eyebrow and closed the door, unfolding the note. As his eyes scanned the note, he paled.

"B-Ben?"

The Brit looked up tearfully. "W-what?"

"Axel didn't leave you."

Benatar's eyes widened and he scrubbed his face clean. "T-then where is he?"

"He...those gangsters from the other day...they...they're going to kill him."

The blonde froze. "What?"

"They got him the day before yesterday and they're going to kill him if they don't get their money." Puff stammered, shaking.

Deejay swallowed. "W-well, what do we do?"

"We need to...we need to meet them."

Elsewhere, Axel felt like death. He was too exhausted to even open his eyes properly.

The door opened and the shadow of the gangster loomed over Axel, who raised his head weakly. The man walked over and grinned.  
>"Get up."<br>Axel struggled to get up, but he was too weak. The gangster kicked him in the stomach. More drops of blood appeared on the white wrap around his mouth.  
>"I said, GET UP."<br>The brunette forced his weak body up and stared at his oppressor. His former red eyes were now a murky brown due to bloodlust.  
>"I have a deal for you, vampire, so listen up."<br>Axel nodded weakly, his wrists burning from how tight the rope around his hands was pulled.  
>"I am going to go and get my money from that nerdy friend of yours, and you're coming along. Once the money is mine, I'll let you go, but not before getting a little revenge on the Puff."<br>The drummer's chest jumped as a 'mmph' slipped out from behind the bandage. The gangster pulled out the wooden stake from behind his back and dragged it across the brunette's chin, drawing blood.  
>"If you stand by, I'll let you go. But if you try to help him, you'll have to watch each of your friends die slowly and painfully. Got that?"<br>Tears appeared in Axel's eyes and slid down his cheeks as he nodded. The gangster smirked as he used the stake to pull off the bandana.  
>"You...you promise you won't hurt them more if I don't do anything?" he said hoarsely, shivering.<br>"But of course!" the gangster replied. His hand slid behind his back and his fingers crossed. "Scout's honor."  
>Axel sighed, trembling. "A-alright."<p>

###

Night fell, tense and stressful. The gangsters literally dragged Axel out by his arms and pulled him into the forest. The brunette could barely see past his spinning vision, but he could see that the ginger was carrying a baseball bat.

At long last, they stopped. The one with the Mohawk lifted him up and held him tightly by his arms. The drummer lifted his head weakly.

"It's midnight. They should be here by now."

"We are."

Puff, Deejay and Benatar all stepped out from the undergrowth.

"Where's my Axel?" Benatar snapped viciously. Axel's heart fluttered when he heard the 'my'.

"Show him."

The gangster holding the drummer shoved him forward. He 'mmphed' in pain, shaking.

"Axel!" the Brit cried, jumping forward. He was grabbed and held back by one of the gangsters as the same happened to Deejay.

"Let them go!" Puff said, his voice wavering.

"Give me my money."

The singer pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to the ginger, who snatched it up.

"There, now let them go!"

"Oh, I plan to, but not before something. Let the vampire loose."

The Mohawk-sporting gangster kicked Axel to the ground and cut off the ropes on his wrists. With a gasp, the drummer pulled off his gag and felt his bloody, bruised mouth twitch at the feel of cold air. His wrists were badly lacerated from the rope, and they weren't healing like they were supposed to.

"Remember our deal, guy?" the gangster said, grinning at Axel. The brunette nodded and hauled himself to his feet.

"What deal?"

"Oh, you'll see." the ginger maliciously said. He shoved Puff to the ground and raised the baseball bat over his head.

Every agonized cry of pain that followed would haunt Axel's mind for the rest of his life. His hands flew up to his ears but he could still hear the sobs and begs.

"Please! Please stop it!" Puff pleaded, "I'm begging you, please!"

"Axel, do something!" Benatar shouted, "Please! They're killing him!"

The brunette's entire body was screaming for him to jump forward and save his friend, but he knew if he did they all would die.

"Axel, please!"

The sound of shattering glass sliced through the air as Axel whipped around. The baseball bat had struck Puff's glasses, knocking the glass out of them and hitting the frames over to the vampire's foot. Puff grabbed his eyes, wailing.

Without the singer's hands covering his head, the gangster moved in for the kill.

Axel couldn't take it anymore. He lunged forward and grabbed the bat before it collided, throwing it behind him. The ginger stiffened, surprised, then glared at the vampire.

"You broke our deal! You know what's going to happen!" he snarled, whipping out the pistol in his pocket and aiming it and the blonde. Axel gasped.

"No!"

The gun went off and Benatar fell to the ground, clutching his chest. Axel disbelievingly felt his arms flop to his sides.

"Ben..."

The smell of blood pervaded the air thickly. The drummer couldn't control himself any longer. With a low growl, he grabbed the gangster by his shirt and chomped down hard on his neck. With a surprised cry, the ginger dropped the gun and collapsed.

The other gangster ran, panicking, as Axel finally hauled himself up. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. He felt years younger, and he saw his burned wrists were already healing. Licking his lips, the drummer crawled over to Benatar hurriedly.

"Ben! Benny, please get up!" he cried. It took a moment, but the zombie raised his head.

"...Axel?"

"Ben, are you okay?"

The Brit rubbed his chest and nodded. "Are you?"

Axel nodded as well. He wanted to jump into Benatar's arms and never let go, but he was still afraid Ben hated him.

A moan distracted them from one another.

"Puff? Puff, you okay?" Benatar asked, dragging himself over. The singer looked up and squinted.

"I feel sore all over. And I can't see."

"Are your eyes fine?"

Puff nodded weakly as Deejay helped him up.

"Axel?"

"Mmm?"

"Why didn't you help Puff before?" Benatar asked.

The drummer winced. "He...he said that if I did, he would kill all of you. I didn't want that to happen."

The Brit smiled. "Well, thank you for doing that. You saved all of us."

Axel blushed and tapped his foot. "No, it wasn't me."

"Of course it was!"

"No."

"Axel."

"Benny."

Benatar suddenly grabbed him and hugged him, shaking.

"I missed you so much." he whispered, trying not to cry. Axel was startled, but he hugged his boyfriend right back.

"Ben, I'm so sorry about what I did."

"No, I'm sorry for yelling at you and treating you so badly."

Deejay picked up Puff, who was too physically traumatized to walk, and carried him over. "C'mon, let's go home."

Axel pulled away from Benatar and shoved his hands into his pockets embarrassedly. He felt something in his hand and realized why he had left and gotten kidnapped in the first place.

"Ben, wait!"

The Brit turned. "Yes?"

"I...I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"I know...we haven't been gay for that long, and we've had our arguments and whatnot, but I really think that this is the right thing to do."

He slipped the object out of his pocket and hid it in his hand.

"And you can say no, and you can hate me for this, but I gotta ask..."

Axel went down to one knee and opened the little box.

"Will you marry me?"

Benatar immediately stiffened and put a hand to his mouth as Puff and Deejay both simultaneously gasped. The drummer held his breath.

_Oh, you've done it now, Axel. He'll say no and he'll hate you and -_

"Yes! Yes, I will!" the keytarist cried joyously, jumping into the brunette's arms. Axel was at first startled, but he hugged his new husband tightly.

"Oh, God, I love you." the zombie said aloud.

"I love you too." the vampire replied. The two kissed passionately as Axel slid the gold band onto Benatar's finger.

"Aww, ain't that sweet?" Deejay smiled.

"Yes, I'm just getting a cavity from all the sweetness." Puff said sarcastically.

The drummer scooped up his love like a real bride and nuzzled him.

"Come on! We're going on a honeymoon!" he cheered. The Brit laughed.

"Where to? Hawaii? Aruba?"

"Hey, whoa, wait! What about us?" Puff struggled from Deejay's grip as ran after them. Deejay sighed.

"Some things never change."

THE END 3


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